Fear and Trust in the Lord
Attitudes of Success • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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What is involved with The Fear of the Lord
What is involved with The Fear of the Lord
Fear of the Lord: Taking God seriously enough to obey him and stay within the boundaries that he sets
We try to discover what he wants.
“What would please God in the way I handle this”
God sets boundaries that we should not cross.
Like guardrails on a mountain road.
1. A heart that is undevidedly loyal to God
1. A heart that is undevidedly loyal to God
Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.
Divided heart: Something else as equally important as God that directs your life.
God and ________?
2. A desire to follow God’s Ways
2. A desire to follow God’s Ways
Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!
The fear of the Lord leads you to walk in his ways.
There is a blessing when you do this.
And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day.
Lie: God’s rules are not good.
Old fashioned.
too prudent
Get in the way.
They are more like guardrails on a mountain road.
Fearing God will result in living within those guardrails or boundaries that he has set.
3. An Aversion to Evil
3. An Aversion to Evil
The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.
Pride: Seeing yourself as better than others.
Arrogance: Demanding more for yourself than you are due.
Evil behavior: Doing what causes harm or sorrow to others.
Perverted speech: Twisted or untrue speech.
Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes.
The wicked do not fear the Lord.
Before we write off “the wicked” to be just the Hitlers of the world, let’s look at some ways people do this:
Know something is wrong, but do it anyway.
Disagree with the Bible in a “sophisticated” way.”
Yes, thats true for some, but not me.
That’s outdated.
I’ll be careful as I sin.
“Morality is subjective to each person.”
What is involved with Trust in the Lord
What is involved with Trust in the Lord
for we walk by faith, not by sight.
Trusting God enough to do what he says.
Walking by faith is trusting God enough to do what he says, even when we can’t see how it’s gonna work out for us.
Trust in the Lord is fearing him enough to limit ourselves to live within his boundaries and trust him with the outcomes.
1. A Confidence in God
1. A Confidence in God
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.
Story of the tightrope walker.
real confidence is demonstrated when you get in the wheelborrow.
Not just for life circumstances, but also for our salvation:
Through faith in Jesus, we can have eternal life.
Trusting in Him to forgive us all our sins.
Faith in Jesus is trusting him enough to get in the wheelborrow.
How scared you are might impact how enjoyable the ride is, but it’s not going to change whether or not you make it accross. That’s up to the tightrope walker.
2. A belief that God won’t Rip you Off
2. A belief that God won’t Rip you Off
We all want to experience the quickets path to success.
Sometimes God’s ways don’t look the best or the fastest from our perspective.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
God makes some promises to those who trust him:
Prosperity (Prov. 28:25)
Help (Ps. 28:7)
A life that flourishes (Jer. 17:5-8)
Deliverance from trouble (Prov. 20:22)
Plans that succeed (Prov. 16:3)
Safety from traps (Prov. 29:25)
Stability and Strength (Prov. 20:7-8)
Vindication ( Ps. 37:3-6)
In the short run, God’s way may not seem like the quickest path to any of this.
Plans might succeeed faster if you are dishonest.
Pass the class if you cheat on the test.
Make more money if you rip someone off.
Sexual gratificatioin by watching porn.
Get higher status by putting someone else down.
Feeling of peace by getting high or drunk.
3. A Reliance on God in the Midst of Trouble
3. A Reliance on God in the Midst of Trouble
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
“Life and it’s pressures are God’s training program for us.”
The real test of your trust will come when the pressure is on.
Will you endure with trusting God enough to stay within his boundaries? or will you try to take a shortcut and take things into your own hands.
Questions:
What kind of problems have you experienced recently because you or someone you know went outside of God’s boundaries.
When someone ignores one of God’s boundaries given in the Bible, how does it reveal a lack of trust in God?
What’s something in your life right now that you need to trust God with?